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One of the original human cast members, Mr. Hooper ran Hooper's Store, the corner candy store on Sesame Street. CTW advisor Gerald S. Lesser, when discussing the Sesame characters and including the first season cast, originally described him as "slightly mean and abrasive but with a poorly hidden nice streak,"[1] Mr. Hooper mellowed over the years and developed a particularly close relationship with Big Bird, who bought his birdseed milkshakes from him. Their friendship was occasionally frustrated by Big Bird's frequent inability to correctly say the shopkeeper's name, often calling him Mr. Looper or some similar rhyming variation. Still, Mr. Hooper had a great affection for Big Bird, even trusting him to open the store in Episode 0198.

According to Oscar, the two were also quite fond of one another. Said Oscar in a Life magazine article:

“We actually got along very well, because when he got groceries in he'd give me the boxes and stuff like that.[2]”

The character's first name was not revealed on the show until an episode in which he received his GED certificate for attending night school (he began his studies in Episode 0871). On the diploma, his name was listed as Harold Hooper.[3] Later, a middle initial — H — was added to his name in Episode 1205 when Mr. Hooper break his arm, which he mentions again in Episode 1283.

In the 1978 special Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, it is revealed that Mr. Hooper is Jewish and celebrates Chanukah. Concerning his upbringing, he once sang a song, "When I Was as Little as You Are", revealing that his father owned a store and he had helped out as a child. His little brother Arnold, who made a visit to Sesame Street in 1981, also helped out in the family store when they were young.

When actor Will Lee died in 1982, it left the producers of Sesame Street with the question of how to deal with the loss of Mr. Hooper. Dulcy Singer, executive producer at the time, said that "if we left it unsaid, kids would notice."[4] One way out was to avoid the issue of death entirely. Producers toyed with the idea of telling viewers that the character had gone away. Big Bird's performer, Caroll Spinney, said that "we didn't know what to do. [We] thought perhaps he could just retire, move to Florida or something, but then the producers thought that the best thing to do would be to actually deal with death."[5] After much discussion and research, the producers decided to have the character of Mr. Hooper pass away as well, and use the episode to teach its young viewers about death as a natural part of life and that it is okay to grieve and feel sad when a loved one passes away.

Mr. Hooper's farewell episode, Episode 1839, aired on Thanksgiving Day, 1983. This landmark episode was a turning point for the show; it was selected by the Daytime Emmys as being one of the 10 most influential moments in daytime television. Sesame Workshop's Hooper Society bequest program is named after the character. According to a 2016 online game, Mr. Hooper was born in 1908 (the birth year of actor Will Lee).

For more information about the "Mr. Hooper's death" episode, see Episode 1839.